The digitalization inherent to ABB Ability, a range of the company's optimization and automation products, monitors the status of all welding-system components, delivering timely and actionable information. The system consists of a 3D white-light scanning sensor mounted to the arm of an ABB robot, relying on the agility of the robot to provide the precise movements necessary for the sensors to access most areas of both simple and complex parts from the optimum angle. Sensor technology rapidly records and compares detailed geometric and surface data with digital CAD models, enabling the automated inspection of manufactured parts and pieces. The payoff: users can reduce cycle times while raising quality and reducing the risk of quality-control errors.

In the FABTECH display, a sensor mounted to the arm of an ABB IRB 4600 robot (a general-purpose model optimized for short cycles) simulated the inspection of a metal component spot-welded by an IRB 6700 Lean ID robot (a medium/heavyweight model featuring an ABB spot-weld gun). A compact, high-payload-capacity IRB 2600 robot shuttled the part between the inspection and spot-welding robots.